The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner including a unit comprising an electric motor and an associated suction fan, a rigid conduit connectable to the inlet side of the unit via a dust separating device and a suction nozzle connectable to the opposite side of the conduit.
Vacuum cleaners according to the above general definition exist in various designs. A common type is the canister cleaner having the shape of a larger loaf and comprising a suction fan driven by an electric motor. The vacuum cleaner has an inlet opening connected to a suction nozzle via a hose and a so-called extension tube. Air is conducted from the suction nozzle, via the extension tube and the hose into the vacuum cleaner in which it passes through a filter in the shape of a dust container where the dust particles conveyed by the air are separated. Then, the air passes the suction fan and is also led past the motor for the purpose of cooling the same before being let out to the ambient atmosphere, usually after having passed through an additional filter which acts also as a diffusor. When the vacuum cleaner is to be used, a person grips a handle disposed at the end of the hose turned away from the vacuum cleaner and connecting the hose with the extension tube. In this way the user can move the suction nozzle across the underlying surface and if needed the vacuum cleaner, which is provided with wheels, can be moved across the underlying surface by the user pulling the hose.
Another kind of vacuum cleaner is the so-called upright cleaner which comprises a floor unit and a handle part. The floor unit comprises a suction nozzle and, in addition, a rotating brush having a beating effect on soft surfaces, like wall-to-wall carpets. The handle part comprises a larger dust container and also serves as an operating means for controlling the movement of the floor unit across the surface to be cleaned.
The two types of vacuum cleaners referred to above both have considerable weight, of the order of 5-10 kg, and are cumbersome in use due to weight. A particularly difficult situation is when the vacuum cleaner is to be taken out from or put into a storage cabinet or, for example in a multi-level structure, when it is to be moved between two different floors.
On the market there is also a type of vacuum cleaner which to some extent remedies the disadvantage caused by weight. This type of vacuum cleaner, often referred to as a stick vacuum cleaner, is of the same category as the upright cleaner however, the floor unit comprises a suction nozzle only (i.e., without any rotating brush) and the vacuum cleaner is smaller and also less heavy than the normal upright cleaner. A disadvantage is that for weight reasons the vacuum cleaner is equipped with a smaller motor fan unit causing the vacuum cleaner to be less efficient as compared to the corresponding canister cleaner or upright cleaner.